Title 4. Civil Discovery Act · Chapter 16. Requests for Admission · Article 2. Response to Requests for Admission · Last amended 2020 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2033.290 lets the requesting party move to compel a further response when an answer is evasive or incomplete or an objection lacks merit or is too general, requires a meet-and-confer declaration and notice within 45 days of the verified response, mandates a sanction against whoever loses the motion, and lets the court deem matters admitted if a party disobeys an order compelling further response.
(a)On receipt of a response to requests for admissions, the party requesting admissions may move for an order compelling a further response if that party deems that either or both of the following apply:
(1)An answer to a particular request is evasive or incomplete.
(2)An objection to a particular request is without merit or too general.
(b)(1) A motion under subdivision (a) shall be accompanied by a meet and confer declaration under Section 2016.040.
(2) In lieu of a separate statement required under the California Rules of Court, the court may allow the moving party to submit a concise outline of the discovery request and each response in dispute.
(c)Unless notice of this motion is given within 45 days of the service of the verified response, or any supplemental verified response, or any specific later date to which the requesting party and the responding party have agreed in writing, the requesting party waives any right to compel further response to the requests for admission.
(d)The court shall impose a monetary sanction under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 2023.010) against any party, person, or attorney who unsuccessfully makes or opposes a motion to compel further response, unless it finds that the one subject to the sanction acted with substantial justification or that other circumstances make the imposition of the sanction unjust.
(e)If a party then fails to obey an order compelling further response to requests for admission, the court may order that the matters involved in the requests be deemed admitted. In lieu of, or in addition to, this order, the court may impose a monetary sanction under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 2023.010).
A response to requests for admission can comply with the formal requirements of Article 2 and still fall short in substance, and this section is the tool for challenging that shortfall. On receiving a response, the requesting party may move to compel a further response on either of two grounds: an answer to a particular request is evasive or incomplete, or an objection lacks merit or is stated too generally to evaluate.
Procedurally, the motion has to be backed by a meet-and-confer declaration, and the court has discretion to accept a concise outline of the disputed requests and responses in place of the separate statement the Rules of Court would otherwise require. Timing matters here more than almost anywhere else in the chapter: the requesting party must give notice of the motion within 45 days of the verified response, or any supplemental verified response, or by whatever later date the parties have agreed to in writing, or the right to compel a further response is waived. A mandatory monetary sanction runs against whichever side loses the motion, absent substantial justification or unjust circumstances. And if a party disobeys an order compelling further response, the court may go further still and order that the matters involved in the requests be deemed admitted, in addition to or instead of a further sanction.
Frequently Asked Questions
On what grounds can a party move to compel a further response to requests for admission?
That an answer is evasive or incomplete, or that an objection is without merit or too general.
What is the deadline to move to compel a further response?
Notice of the motion must be given within 45 days of service of the verified response or any supplemental verified response, or by a later date the parties agreed to in writing, or the right to compel is waived.
Must this motion be accompanied by a meet-and-confer declaration?
Yes, a meet-and-confer declaration under Section 2016.040 must accompany the motion.
What happens if a party disobeys an order compelling further response?
The court may order that the matters involved in the requests be deemed admitted, in addition to or instead of a further monetary sanction.
Is a sanction automatic on a motion to compel a further response?
Generally yes. The court must impose a monetary sanction against whoever unsuccessfully makes or opposes the motion, absent substantial justification or unjust circumstances.
Amendment History
(Added by Stats.2004, c. 182 (A.B.3081), § 23, operative July 1, 2005. Amended by Stats.2013, c. 18 (A.B.1183), § 3; Stats.2018, c. 317 (A.B.2230), § 5, eff. Jan. 1, 2019, operative Jan. 1, 2020.)
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the West's Annotated California Codes / Thomson Reuters. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as:ccp 2033.290 motion to compel further response admission45 day deadline motion to compel californiaevasive incomplete answer request for admission